Monday's programme in Hakons.
Monday's draw gave the two Czech national teams two opponents each. This means that the programme in Hakons hall started at 8 a.m., actually much earlier, because the teams have training sessions before the matches. The first round fell on the women, so wake up at six, breakfast at 6:30, in the hall shortly after seven and training at 7:30. The yellow stones signify the second practice session in order, when the ice is already well-traveled and rutted from the first practice session, making it possible to play the necessary stones a little more accurately to gain an advantage in the first end. We did this brilliantly and also took advantage of it by scoring five stones right at the start. It caught us a bit off guard and it took us a few ends to recover from the surprise. In the meantime, the hard-working Estonians scored a few points and came dangerously close to us. In the end we were again the better team and deservedly won. There is no time for anything else than a short analysis of the match and lunch with a little rest. I'll have time to watch the end of the Czechs vs. Italians match. At the very end there was a chance to win the match and the boys did their best to make it difficult for Joel (Retornaz, Italy), but the strong nerves of the Italian skip and his last stone on the tee line, decided a close loss for the Czech men. From 4 pm onwards the women faced the Russians and the opening looked good. After two ends one one. Then after a series of very accurate stones, the Russians played a three and started a machine-like defensive game, which they are very good at. We couldn't find the recipe anymore, and so we took a clear defeat 2 : 9. The men were looking for their third win of the tournament from 8pm onwards and a solid chance came after the Danes managed to go ahead by just one stone after nine ends. But in the tenth the coveted deuce did not come, instead Lukas had to save the continuation of the match with a good draw. The Danes played a little better in the extra end. Although the guards remained on the board, and thus the chances for a draw for the Czech team, the placement of our stone behind the tee line and the firm hand of Mikkel Krause meant a win for the Danes. Tomorrow morning at 9am the Czechs play the Danes.
rnphoto: the situation in the men's eighth end against the Danes was not easy